Tag Archive mental health

Stress is a natural reaction to many situations in life, such as work, family, relationships and money problems. A moderate amount of stress can help us perform better in challenging situations, but too much or prolonged stress can lead to physical problems.

Three steps to take when feeling stressed are:

1. Realise when it is causing you a problem

Try to make the connection between feeling tired or ill and the pressures you are faced with

Look out for physical warnings such as tense muscles, over-tiredness, headaches or migraines

2. Identify the causes

Try to identify the underlying causes

Sort the possible reasons for your stress into three categories:

Those with a practical solution

Those that will get better given time; and

Those you can’t do anything about

Try to release the worry of those in the second and third groups and let them go

3. Review your lifestyle

Could you be taking on too much?

Are there things you are doing which could be handed over to someone else?

Can you do things in a more leisurely way?

Learn more about what stress is, what the signs of stress are and steps to prevent stress on the mentalhealth.org website.

People are speaking out more and more about Mental Health, but there is still a stigma attached to it, that we need to remove! Over the past few years, celebrities have started coming forward about mental health issues of all varieties, from Adele and Beyoncé to Dwayne Johnson and even Prince Harry. It just goes to show that no matter how perfect your life may look from the outside, there is often a lot going on inside, which is far from perfect.

Read more about celebrities that have opened up about mental health issues here.

The NHS is investing more money into mental health year on year, with overall mental health funding up £1.4 billion in real terms compared to 3 years ago and 120,000 more people getting specialist mental health treatment this year than 3 years ago.

These figures show just how much support there is out there for mental health, so we really must utilise this. Let’s be aware of mental health issues, support each other and speak out!

For more information and support with mental health issues, visit the NHS website.

Former soldiers suffering from substance abuse, trauma and other issues will receive support from a new mental health service launched by the NHS. This service is called the Veterans’ Mental Health Complex Treatment Service and will offer treatment and care to former soldiers.

The new service is backed by £3.2 million of NHS funding and will help those with the most complex needs. This new service aims to help ex-soldiers access services closer to home, rather than making them travel to receive care.

Read more on this at http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/04/nhs-launch-new-mental-health-service-soldiers-7359990

The UK Armed Forces Mental Health Annual Summary 2016/17 reported that 3.2% of UK Armed Forces personnel were assessed with a mental disorder, representing 3 in 10. This has risen in the last 10 years from 1.8% and is likely to continue increasing in time.

The demographics found that the majority of cases were relating to:

Army and RAF personnel – the lower rates of mental disorder seen among Royal Marines may be the due to the recruitment selection process, support received as a result of tight unit cohesion and high levels of preparedness for combat;

Females – this is replicated in the UK civilian population and may be a result of females being more likely to report mental health problems than males;

Other Ranks – higher educational attainment and socio-economic background are associated with lower levels of mental health disorder and this may explain differences in the rates between officers and other ranks;

Combat Stress, The UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health have been helping former servicemen and women deal with issues like trauma, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder for almost a century. Combat Stress provides support to former veterans from every service and every conflict over the phone, online, in the community and at their treatment centres.

Their mission is to raise awareness that invisible injuries can be just as hard to cope with as physical ones. So when a veteran is having a tough time, Combat Stress helps to tackle the past and to help them take on the future.

You can find out more about Combat Stress and donate at https://www.combatstress.org.uk.

There is no doubt that help is on the rise for former army veterans and this new NHS initiative will continue to support our ex-soldiers in the battle of mental health.